Inner liner with butter compartment for refrigerator door



L. H. HINKEL Dec. 11, 1956 INNER LINER WITH BUTTER COMPARTMENT FOR REFRIGERATOR DOOR 3 Sheets-Shes 1 Original Filed May 3, 1952 a mu L. H. HINKEL Dec. 11, 1956 INNER LINER WITH BUTTER COMPARTMEINT FOR REFRIGERATOR DOOR Original Filed May 3, 1952 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 fivf'ntor." aerig cogzhkel Dec. 11, 1956 L. H. HINKEL 2,773,677

INNER LINER WITH BUTTER COMPARTMENT FOR REFRIGERATOR DOOR Original Filed May-3, 1952 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 United States Patent INNER LINER WITH BUTTER COIVIPARTMENT FOR REFRIGERATOR DOOR Lester -H. Hinkel, Evansville, Ind., assignor, by mesne assignments, to Whirlpool-Seeger Corporation, a corporation of Delaware Original application May 3, 1952, Serial *No. 285,878,

now Patent No. 2,706,140, dated April 12, 1955. Divided and this application June 5, 1953, Serial No. 359,845

3 Claims. -(Cl. 257-9) This invention relates generally to a door structure and more particularly to a door structure which is adaptable for use on a conventional type household refrigerator cabinet. This application is a divisional .application of the copending application of Lester H. Hinkel, Serial No. 285,878, filed.May 3, 1952, and entitled Inner Liner for Refrigerator Door, now Patent No. 2,706,140.

It is-common in the art to provide the inner surface of a refrigerator compartment door with shelves on which food articles may be stored whereby they will be readily accessible for removal therefrom upon .opening of the door. Another feature of the more up-to-date household refrigerators is a butter conditioner mounted on the inner surface of the refrigerator door. This door usually comprises an outer pan and an inner liner spaced therefrom with insulating material therebetween. The inner liner may be constructed from plastic, metal or other suitable material and the shelves and butter conditioner are generally fabricated separately and then fastened to the inner liner. Such a structure is expensive to manufacture and has been resorted to only because no better method has been devised for fabricating the door.

One object of "the present invention is to provide a refrigerator door having food storage'shelves and a butter conditioner disposed on the inner surface thereof.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator door comprising an outer pan and an inner liner spaced therefrom with insulating material therebetween.

Another object of the present invention is to construct the inner liner with the shelves and butter conditioner formed onan integral part thereof.

Another object of the invention is to provide the inner liner with openings behind the food storage shelves so that the liner can be more easily fabricated by the use of simplified dies or jigs.

Another object of the invention is to provide inserts for covering the openings located in back ofsaid shelves.

Another object of the invention is to provide the inner liner with a recessed portion which is adaptable for use as a butter conditioner.

Another object of the invention is to provide the re cessed portion with a groove which is adapted to receive a plate to which aheating element may be attached for maintaining the .recessed portion at a desired temperature.

Other objects .and various features of novelty and invention will be hereinafter pointed out or will become apparent to those skilled in the art.

In the drawings, which .show for illustrative purposes only .a preferred form of the invention:

Fig. 1 is an elevational view of a refrigerator door embodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken along line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged horizontal sectional view taken along line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

10 particularly adaptable for use Patented Dec. 11, 1956 Fig. 4 is an enlarged horizontal sectional view taken along line 4-4.of Fig. 1;

Fig. '5 is an enlarged horizontal sectional view of the butter compartment taken along line 5--5- of Fig. 1;

Fig. .6 isa cross sectional view of a portion-of the dies used in forming a shelf of theinner liner of the door;

Fig. 7 is an enlarged vertical sectional view of the butter compartmentwith the elements thereof shown in assembled position;

Fig. 8 is a front elevational view of the butter compartmentof Fig. 7 with the doorthereof-removed;

Fig. 9 is a horizontal-sectional view taken along line 99 of Fig. 8; and

Fig. 10 is an enlarged sectional view taken along-line 1010 of Fig. 8.

Referring to the drawings for a detailed description of the invention, Fig. 1 illustrates a rear view of a'door ina vertical typehousehold refrigerator cabinet. As viewed'in Fig. 1, the observer sees the rear or inner portion ofthe door which would be located adjacent the cabinet when the-door is in closedposition. The door 10 comprises an outer wall or pan 11 which is preferably constructed from metal and is provided with bent inedge portions 12 along all all four edges. An inner wall or liner 13 extends parallel .to the vertical portion of outer pan 11 with the edges'14,

15, 16 and 17 thereof secured to the inturned edge portions 12 of the outer pan 11 by any suitable means. A sealing gasket 18 clips over the edges of the innerliner 13 and functions to seal around the door 10'-when it is in closed position. The space formed between theouter pan 11 and inner vliner 13 is filled with an insulating material .19.

The inner liner 13 is curved inwardly from the'edges thereof toward the outer pan 11 and is provided with four spaced apart shelves 20. Each shelf comprises a front wall 21, bottom wall-22 and-side walls 23 and24. A strengthening rib 25 may be formed between the bot tom wall .22 and the vertical portion of the inner liner 13 in order togive the shelves Ztladded rigidity and strength.

iItis common in the art to construct such inner liners from sheet metal or a plasticmaterial. The'plastic inner liners are generally preferable in that they are 'more economical to manufacture and present a better appearance. It is contemplated that theinner liner 13 of the present invention be molded from plastic by the use of molding dies. In order to provide an inner linerwhich will be economical to manufacture, it is desirable to form the shelves 20 as anintegral part thereof. Of course, if the inner liner 13 were made solid with the shelves 20 projecting therefrom a complicated die insert would be required for the formation of each shelf. The illustratedinner liner 13 is formed with a longitudinal hole or slot 26 located rearwardly of each shelf 20 whereby a portion of one of the dies for forming the shelf may project therethrough. Fig. 6 illustrates a pair of molding dies 27 and 28 between which the inner liner 13 may be molded. The upper die 27 is provided with a projecting portion 29 which extends into a pocket provided in lower die 28 and which cooperates therewith to form the shelf 20. This eliminates the necessity of die inserts and permits the inner liner to bemolded by the use of simplified dies.

The slots 26 located rearwardly of each shelf 20 are generally rectangular in shape and are substantially the same size as the projected area of the inner side of the front wall 21 of each shelf 20. A horizontal rib 30 and two vertical ribs 31 and 32 project from the inner side of the inner liner 13 oppositely from bottom wall 22 and side walls 23 and 24 respectively. The inner edges of these ribs are located in a common vertical plane which is an extension of the outer surface =of-the'inner liner immediately above each shelf 20. A panel or insert 33 is positioned over each slot 26 with an offset upper edge 34 fitting over the top edge of theflslot and the other edges thereof abutting the projecting ribs 30, 31 and 32. Each insert 33 is permanently attached thereto by a suitable cement or other appropriate means. The inserts 33 are contoured to blend in-with the general shape of the inner liner 13 whereby they provide a finished appearance to the inner liner.

Spaced above the top shelf 20 is a butter conditioner or compartment designated generally by reference figure 35'. Figures 1, 2 and show the compartment 35 before the elements comprising the completed conditioner are assembled therein. It is contemplated that the inner liner 13 be molded with the compartment 35 an integral part thereof. The compartment 35 comprises an upper wall 36, rear wall 37, side walls 38 and 39, and a bottom wall 40. The inner liner 13 is provided with a raised portion 41 which extends completely around the compartment 35. The central portion of the bottom wall 40 is provided with a stepped portion 42, a horizontal base portion 43 and a depressed vertical portion 44 which extends below the base portion 43. ,A groove 45 is formed between an upper rib 46 and bottom wall 40 and extends along side walls 38 and 39 and rear wall 37. A slot 47 is provided in inner liner 13 which conforms with the width of base portion 43. Projections 48 are spaced along each side of slot 47 and extend outwardly from the inner side of the inner liner 13 as seen in Fig. 10. Each projection is provided with an opening 49 therethrough in which a fastener 50 is secured.

A metallic plate 51 having a horizontal portion 52 and a downwardly extending vertical portion 53 is assembled in the compartment 35 as best seen in Figures 7-10. The rear edge and side edges of the horizontal portion 52 are received within the groove 45 with the vertical portion 53 extending over a recessed portion 54 of the inner liner 13. The vertical portion 53 is provided with inturned edges 55 which abut the recessed portion 54 and two spaced apart screws 56 extend through the vertical portion 53 and thread into the fasteners 50 whereby the plate 51- is held securely in position. The horizontal portion 52 has a downwardly extending depressed portion 57 on which a tray or container may be positioned. The vertical portion 53 of the plate 51 is provided with extensions 58 and 59 along each edge thereof. The lower edge of each of the extensions 58 and 59 is provided with hinge butts 60 and 61 respectively to which a door 62 is adapted to be rotatively secured. Electric heating elements 63 are secured to the under side of plate 51 by suitable clip means 64. A control element or rheostat 65 is fastened to the plate 51 by an L-shaped bracket 66 and is provided with a control knob 67. The lower edge 68 of the vertical portion 53 is curved upwardly whereby the lower portion of the knob 67 is exposed. It is contemplated that heating elements 63 and control element 65 be connected to a power source by a suitable electrical circuit (not shown).

The heating elements 63 and control element 65 may be assembled to the plate 51 prior to the insertion of the edges of the plate 51 into the groove 45. If servicing of these elements is required after the door has been put into use, the plate 51 can be easily removed by simply loosening the screws 56 and sliding the plate from the groove 45. Thus it can be seen that the structure is one that can be quickly and easily assembled and disassembled.

The heating elements 63 will heat the plate 51 whereby the compartment 35 will be maintained within a desired temperature range. The control mechanism 65 will operate to regulate the flow of current to the heating elements 63 so that the proper amount of heat will be transferred to the compartment 35. The knob 67 can be easily set by an operator placing a finger into depressed portion 44 and rotating the knob to a desired position. Details of the control mechanism 65 are not shown but it is to be understood that it could be any one of the temperature responsive type controls which are available on the market today.- Butter which is to be stored within compartment 35 may be placed directly on the horizontal portion 52 of the plate 51 or may be inserted in any suitable container which is then placed within the compartment 35. The compartment door 62 will seal the butter compartment 35 from the refrigerator cabinet and prevent transfer of heat therebetween.

From the foregoing it can be seen that a refrigerator door is provided in which several novel features are incorporated. By constructing the inner liner 13,Wltl1 the slots 26 behind the shelves 20, it is possible to mold the liner without the use of complicated die inserts. The butter conditioner compartment 35 is formed as an integral part of the inner liner 13 and the other elements of the butter conditioner can be assembled therein with a minimum amount of labor. The inner liner is neat in appearance and is particularly adaptable for a refrigerator cabinet. Although only one preferred form of the invention has been shown and described in detail, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is: v

1. In a refrigerator door structure, an inner liner formed of a thermally non-conductive material andhaving a butter compartment integrally formed therein, said compartment having a groove integrally formed in the rear and side walls thereof, a thermally conductive plate slidably received within said groove and adapted to support a quantity of butter thereon, a heating element secured in heat exchange relation to said plate and disposed within said compartment, manual means for controlling the operation of said heating element, said plate being provided with a front portion which extends below the bottom wall of said compartment, hinge butts provided on said front portion, a compartment door formed of a thermally non-conductive material and pivotally secured to said hinge butts, said front portion being provided with a cut-out portion adjacentthe lower edge thereof, said manual means being secured to said plate and positioned between the bottom wall of said compartment and said plate adjacent said cut-out portion, and detachable means for securing the front portion of said plate to said inner liner.

2. In a refrigerator door structure, an inner liner formed of a thermally non-conductive material and having a butter compartment integrally formed therein, said compartment having a groove integrally formed in the rear and side walls thereof and spaced upwardly, from the bottom wall thereof, a thermally conductive plate slidably positioned within said groove and adapted to support a quantity of butter thereon, a heating element positioned within said compartment and above the bottom, wall thereof and secured in heat exchange relation to said plate, said plate being provided with a front portion which extends downwardly below the bottom wall of said compartment and having a cut-out portion adjacent the lower edge thereof, hinge butts provided on said front portion, a com partment door formed of a thermally non-conductive material and pivotally secured to said hinge butts, manual means including a control knob for adjusting said heating element, said manual means being secured to and positioned below said plate rearwardly of said front portion, said knob projecting below the cut-out of said front portion whereby it may be reached for manual adjustment, and detachable means for securing said plate to said compartment.

3. In a refrigerator door structure, an inner liner formed of a thermally non-conductive material and having a butter compartment integrally formed therein, said 5 compartment having a groove integrally formed in the rear and side walls thereof and spaced upwardly from the bottom wall thereof, a thermally conductive plate slidably positioned within said groove and adapted to support a quantity of butter thereon, a heating element positioned Within said compartment and above the bottom wall thereof and secured in heat exchange relation to said plate, said plate being provided with a front vertical portion which extends downwardly below the bottom wall of said compartment, hinge butts provided on said front portion, a compartment door formed of a thermally non conductive material and pivotally secured to said hinge butts, detachable means for securing said plate to said compartment, a bracket secured to said plate, control mechanism secured to said bracket for controlling the operation of said heating element, a control knob for manually adjustiug said control mechanism, said front vertical portion being provided with a cut-out portion, and said control knob being located adjacent said cut-out portion.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 958,991 Burton May 24, 1910 2,303,806 Wild Dec. 1, 1942 2,525,446 Carbary Oct. 10, 1950 2,579,848 Nave Dec. 25, 1951 2,627,393 Shell Feb. 3, 1953 2,658,727 Eek Nov. 10, 1953 

